Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF Gains 35.5% in 2025 Led by 204% Robinhood Surge
ARK Innovation ETF posted a 35.5% return in 2025, outperforming the S&P 500’s 16.6% gain by 19 percentage points. Top individual contributors included Robinhood Markets (+204%), Palantir Technologies (+135%), AMD (+77%) and Shopify (+42%), while The Trade Desk, Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Twist Bioscience each declined over 30%.
1. ETF Overall Performance
ARK Innovation ETF delivered a 35.5% total return in 2025, surpassing the S&P 500’s 16.6% gain by 19 percentage points and marking one of its strongest annual performances to date.
2. Top Performing Holdings
Robinhood Markets led the portfolio with a 204% gain, followed by Palantir Technologies at 135%, AMD at 77% and Shopify at 42%, driven by expanded service offerings, enterprise AI contract wins, hyperscaler partnerships and generative AI tool integrations.
3. Notable Underperformers
The Trade Desk declined 68% after an unexpected earnings miss and rising competition, Recursion Pharmaceuticals slid 40% due to portfolio rationalization and integration challenges, and Twist Bioscience dropped 32% amid government funding headwinds and a strategic spin‐out of its DNA storage unit.
4. Long-Term Outlook
ARK remains confident in its disruptive innovation strategy, citing ongoing platform scalability, new product rollouts and diversified revenue models as key supports for future growth across its core holdings.